Chapter 15 - Boorish Words (CF)
The next week went by incredibly quickly. The SS Mahruav ceased docking at the Waffle Kingdom and immediately headed south, along with the Introverts ship, toward Rogueport to pick up Xavier and Aaron. Aaron was more than eager to come along, having metamorphosed into an average human height with strong arms and legs, more than capable of running with stamina, as well as carrying the heavy broadsword that was now a fixture of him. He had clearly been training, becoming used to his human body, hunting and fighting. It was strange, to imagine him as the little orange “pumpkin” Ruff Puff, and associate it with the strong man now with them. Aaron usually wore a white t-shirt with an orange jacket, with green jeans and brown boots. His face was usually hidden by the familiar pumpkin mask - his Ruff Puff face, that made him look like a jack-o’-lantern, but when it wasn’t, it exposed his scarred face, black hair and deep hazel eyes. Now twenty-one, Aaron was more confident in himself, but still carried the same soft-spoken atmosphere around him. Xavier, however, was more reluctant. The Bandit had made a living for himself in Rogueport, caring for his sister. It was only after Tubba promised him, that once they reclaimed the Kingdom, Tubba would reward him with gold, that Xavier agreed to come along, and only subject to conditions. While the Bandit had hardly changed much, both in appearance - still the same green-robed Bandit with a cracked mask at the top, and rarely wearing a smile - and personality - a bit frosty, a bit insecure and a very introverted - Shazam joked that he was more introverted than the introverts - he brought a friend along, another friend that Tubba had never expected to see again. Tubba had never been particularly close to the Star Kid Gamma - he had always seemed a little distant - but, Gamma was apparently now fast friends with Xavier, despite the two having only a brief Glitz Pit time together. Despite Tubba’s best efforts, Xavier absolutely refused to come along unless Gamma did to, forcing Tubba to beckon the pink Star Kid aboard the SS Mahruav. Gamma was a pink Star Kid with a rainbow coloured scarf, who had a tendency to panic quite easily, and was quite energetic. Tubba wasn’t sure about bringing him along - but he had to have Xavier. Still, the week in the SS Mahruav belly went too fast. He introduced some of his older friends in Gonzales, Blizzerd and Mud to the newer ones in Sarge and Gamma, and there were no consternations between groups. Despite the escalating severity of the situation, and the fact that they would walk onto Koopa Kingdom territory without a clear game plan, the mood in the hold remained quite light. Tubba had a stupid smile plastered on his face at nearly all times. He had never had this much fun. Whether they were playing cards, charades, taking jabs at each other, pulling all-nighters, Tubba felt like he barely had a care in the world. But he did have a care in the world. The onsets of lethargy became more frequent and more persistent, as well as lasting longer. Sometimes, he would be just laughing and joking with his friends in the hold, and then he would almost black out for a couple seconds. Gonzales, in particular, was very concerned about these flashes of nearly fainting, but Tubba shoved him off. He would be fine. As days rolled on, Tubba had assembled the “committee” of sorts. Gonzales, Blizzerd, Mud and himself would assemble in the Captain’s room, to discuss the course of action. These were often exhausting sessions, with four different ideas on how to go about their calculated assail on Gusty Gulch. They would have to go through some of the toughest Koopan defences, because the whole territory was still the heart of a very tense period. There was no outright conflict, but the battle lines were increasingly being drawn - the Koopa Kingdom, with their Zaz allies, against the three other mainland powers, the Mushroom Kingdom, the BeanBean Kingdom, and Sarasaland, with the Waffle Kingdom supporting them from offshore. The uncomfortable border between the Mushrooms and Koopas, just a few miles outside of Forever Forest, was the heart of this dispute. The Mushrooms, Beans, and Sarasalanders felt embarrassed that six years ago, the Koopas had swindled them out of a territory they had conquered themselves. It would take merely a spark to ignite a full-scale war. The problem the SS Mahruav crew, with their Introvert friends had, was that none of the ways to approach Gusty Gulch seemed particularly safe without being the spark to ignite conflict. Gusty Gulch overlooked the sea, and so the eastern border was virtually impossible to slip through, with Koopan ships, submarines and airships prowling over the ocean. The western border would require weeks’ worth of travel on foot from the western coast of the Mushroom Kingdom, which was fraught with risk itself. The southern border had two problems - first, the southern coast of the Mainland was almost as far away as the western coast of the Mushroom Mainland, and second, they would have to travel, on foot, through the heart of Koopan territory. That would be a recipe for disaster. Slowly, the northern border became more and more the answer. This border required much less travel than the western and southern borders, but also only involved travelling through Mushroom territory, from the northern coast. However, a direct northern path would be very impractical, because it would leave the ragtag group of determined rogues exposed along the cold and dry paths of Ice Land, a Mushroom Kingdom sub-Kingdom, that, true to it’s name, was quite wintery and chilly, even in the hottest months of the year. It was then that Tubba proposed an approach from the northwestern side of the old Clubba Kingdom. Initially, they would dock at Ice Land, at the northeastern tip of the Mushroom Kingdom, but instead of proceeding directly south, they would cut a little westward, arriving in Forever Forest. What this accomplished was minimal time in Ice Land, for the territory turned into Sky Land, which was the precise territory any marauder would like to be in. The majority of Sky Land’s population lived on corporeal clouds above the land, leaving the land sparse and empty of influence. The land below Sky Land between Gusty Gulch and the mountains that surrounded the heart of the Koopa Kingdom were full of volcanic activity, to the point that the whole area was named Volcano Alley. Yet, the land immediately north of Gusty Gulch, which would be the territory they would trek through, were large fields of lush grasses - the prairies - a very comforting atmosphere, as well as considered virtually worthless by the Mushroom Kingdom, and unguarded. That steadily became the plan. It took a while to convince everyone that this was the best course of action, but ultimately, by the time they approached the northeasternmost point of the Mushroom Mainland, the decision had been made. They would travel diagonally, through the prairies to Forever Forest, where the aura of paranormality and ghosts had kept the mortals primarily away. Some uncomfortable looks were thrown around his friends at the thought of treading into a forest drenched in eternal night, where spirits of the deceased lurked, but Tubba did not share it. Forever Forest was one of the last two territories, the other being Gusty Gulch, that the Clubbas had managed to hold on to. As consequence, he had become very familiar with the ruler of Forever Forest, Lady Bow. Lady Bow was a character unlike any other in Clubban history. She arrived in Forever Forest, according to the history books, in 1808, having been deceased for a few years, and within seven years, had overthrown the prior leader of Forever Forest. In 1815, Lady Bow was the Boo who all other Boos looked to when they needed something. She watched as she was technically ruled by the Clubbas, but the Boos were always a bit strange - they didn’t care whose territory they were on, they were very independent. So many reigns passed - Hadrubba Blubba, Tubba’s great-great-grandfather, Nefubba Blubba, Tubba’s great-grandmother, Karubba Blubba, Tubba’s grandfather, and Tubba Sr., Tubba’s father. It was a bit surreal to imagine that Bow had seen all of that. In 2000, a clear depiction of the Boos less than devout loyalty to the Clubbas was displayed. When the late Bowser Koopa moved in with the Star Rod, demanding the Clubbas ally with him, Tubba I didn’t decline, out of fear for his Kingdom. Bowser powered Tubba I up, and drove him a little crazy with the immense power of the Star Rod, leading Tubba’s father into the insatiable desire to devour and eat some of the loyal Boos to Bow as sustenance. Bow allied with Mario, who wandered through Forever Forest, and displayed no remorse in ripping the power of the Star Rod away from Tubba I. Tubba I, returned to the normal pious king he was, begged for the forgiveness of Lady Bow, which was granted, allowing the Clubbas to return to their former relationship with the Boos, part of a trend had taken place over the past two centuries, under Lady Bow - the Boos prevented the Clubbas from ever being attacked from the western side, which was where the Castle faced, as well as technical control of the territory, in exchange for a lack of Clubban meddling in their affairs. What this allowed was a very easy relationship between the monarchs of the Clubba Kingdom and Lady Bow. All of this contributed to Tubba being quite confident that Lady Bow would be of major help in his conquest of Gusty Gulch. The Koopas, with their advanced technology and lesser respect for Boos, would surely have been worse than the Clubbas. Which is why he was so surprised to find Bow, cast out from her subjects, with nasty, silver scars lacing her incorporeal body, in an estranged part of Forever Forest.